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Tapering: Abilify

planning

25 posts

North Italy

New horizons but some doubts on my psychiatrist

September 23, 2026··
DISCLAIMER: I wrote this without the google translation so I'm sorry in advance if some phrases doesn't make much sense, I hope you can understand the overall picture. So long story short: my main psychiatrist agreed to lower the intramuscolar injection dose, I'm so happy right now. Doesn't mean it will happen suddenly but there is finally room for improvements. I lowered my defences, my barriers as I tried to understand his responsability position and all of a sudden we were on the same side. I told him I do not absolutely want to have a psychiatric hospedalization again, mandatory or not and I want to get a better life in general. We laughed, we discussed, and we talked a lot. I feel this is a new start for me on psychiatric recovery and maybe at the end of the journey I will heal. Still some issues occoured like for a second he denied that withdrawal symptoms for anti-psycotics even exist, contradicting himself right after that. He says anti-depressants do cause withdrawal not anti-psycotics and we couldn't get lower than 200mg of intramuscolar abilify which I believe is indeed possible. He gave me the option as well to take the two months injection as an alternative of reducing the dose which to me doesn't make much sense but it does for him. He told me we can take a blood sample to check plasmatic level of abilify once the reduction is made. He's aware it seems that what matters is the occupancy of dopamine receptors and not much plasmatic levels, I take it as a cooperative proposal and I'm glad he tries to do the best for me as we discussed for more then an hour which is really unsual for me. Overall I think I did a great improvements with the relationship with him. Side note: he describes the microtapering community as an extremist approach to psychiatry and I'm not really sure why. I can imagine (as he often mentions the literature) he is overwhelmed by studies and do not really know which ones to pick, coupled with the stress of work, seeing people all day, and many voices inside the local community of psychiatrists could make him sort of unsure to some things but at the same time open to various possibilities.

Abilify — 300 mg Maintena — 7 years but with different dosage — planning taper | other — EN delorazepam medication: current dose 1 mg when needed — 2 years — holding | other — Akineton - 2 mg — 5 months — holding | with clinician

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